New Ebola Case In Sierra Leone Highlights Continuing Challenges For Health Officials, Community Members January 20, 2016 News Summary Al Jazeera America: New Ebola case in Sierra Leone underscores lingering challenges “…[Sidie Yahya Tunis, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Sanitation,] said that the biggest challenge in the crisis was persuading people to change these behaviors and that community engagement, which involved getting authorities such as religious…
Zika Virus Spreads To Haiti, Bolivia, Health Officials Report January 20, 2016 News Summary Agence France-Presse: Haiti hit with Zika virus outbreak: official “Haiti’s health ministry said Friday the country has been hit by an outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne ailment similar to dengue fever that is rapidly spreading through the Caribbean. Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume confirmed the outbreak at a…
Birx Reiterates U.S. Government Efforts To Focus HIV/AIDS Spending On High-Burden Areas In NIH Lecture January 20, 2016 News Summary NIH Fogarty International Center’s “Global Health Matters”: Global coordinator pushes for stronger, more focused anti-HIV efforts Cathy Kristiansen, editor and writer with the NIH Fogarty International Center, summarizes comments made by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Deborah Birx “during an NIH lecture honoring Dr. Joseph J. Kinyoun, who founded the one-room…
The Guardian Features Responses To Expert Q&A On Improving Mental Health Care In Developing Countries January 20, 2016 News Summary The Guardian: Live Q&A: How can we improve mental health support in developing countries? “…What are the barriers to understanding and treating mental health in poorer countries? How can attitudes to mental health be changed? And with resources dealing with health issues already so stretched, how can we make mental…
South Sudan Needs $1.3B In Humanitarian Funding, U.N. Says January 20, 2016 News Summary Reuters: U.N. seeks $1.3 billion in humanitarian funding for South Sudan “The United Nations is seeking $1.3 billion in humanitarian aid for South Sudan, where two in 10 of the population have been driven from their homes during two years of conflict…” (Jorgic, 1/20).
Sudan Struggles To Import Medical, Science Research Supplies Under U.S. Sanctions, Foreign Policy Reports January 20, 2016 News Summary Foreign Policy: Sudan Sanctions Deprive ‘Whole Nation’ of Health Care “…Ever since the United States designated Sudan a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ in 1993 and imposed comprehensive sanctions on the country, doctors and scientists in Khartoum say they have struggled to import supplies and conduct research that could eventually save…
Half Of 2.6M Stillbirths Worldwide Preventable, Lancet Series Suggests January 20, 2016 News Summary News outlets continue to report on findings from The Lancet Ending Preventable Stillbirths series. Agence France-Presse: More than 7,000 babies stillborn every day “About 7,200 babies are stillborn every day — some 2.6 million per year — and half of these deaths occur during delivery, according to a quintet of…
New Committee On World Food Security Chair Speaks To IPS About Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture January 20, 2016 News Summary Inter Press Service: Q&A: Ensuring Food Security for All “As the Ambassador of the Republic of the Sudan to Italy and Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Sudan to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, Amira Daoud Hassan Gornass takes up her role as chair of the…
Hundreds Of Thousands Remain In Need Of Food, Medical Aid In Besieged Syrian Locations, U.N. Reports January 20, 2016 News Summary New York Times: Airdrops Called Too Risky a Way to Help Starving Syrians “Civilians in besieged Syrian cities are still starving. Though two humanitarian convoys reached Madaya on Thursday, for example, they were the first to do so in months, and the United Nations says five more people there have…
Militaries Must Not Bomb Hospitals; U.K. Government Should Reaffirm Commitment To International Humanitarian Law January 20, 2016 News Summary The Guardian: Bombing hospitals and schools cannot become the new normal Vickie Hawkins, executive director of MSF U.K. “…Today, as you read this, sophisticated military weapons are being — purposely or mistakenly — aimed at hospitals and clinics. With total impunity, essential medical services are being destroyed as a military…